Automatic trolley-controlling device.



No. 769,009. 7 PATENTED AUG. 30, 1904.

I H. W. NICHOLS & S. BRIGGS.

AUTOMATIC TROLLEY CONTROLLING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 4v 1904.

N0 MODEL.

UNITED. STATES Patented August 30, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

HORACE NICHOLS AND SAMUEL BRIGGS, OF FOLCROFT, PENNSYL- VANIA.

AUTOMATIC TROLLEY-CONTROLLING DEVICE.

- SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 769,009, dated August 30, 1904.

Application filed January 4, 1904.

To all whom, it nuty concern:

Be it known that we, HORACE W. NIoHoLs and SAMUEL BRIGGS, citizens of the United States, residing at Folcroft, county of Delaware, and State of Pennsylvania, have inventdevices, and has for its object to provide a device to be'attached to the car which will automatically pull the trolley down below the wire at any time the trolley leaves the wire and will also keep the rope taut, so as to takeup the slack as the trolley rises or falls with the rise and fall of the Wire.

With these ends invview this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and then specifically designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains may understand how to make and use the same, the construction and operation will now be described in detail, referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of our device attached to the car; Fig. 2, a horizontal section through our improved device; Fig. 3, a vertical section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4, a vertical section taken on the line I I of Fig. 2.

Our device is intended as an improvement on application for patent filed by Horace W. Nichols September 9,1903, Serial No. 172,431. In the application referred to provision was only made for automatically pulling the trolley down below the wire at any time the trolley leaves the. wire; but in this application provision is also made for keeping the trolleyrope taut as the trolley rises and descends with the irregularities of the wire.

It is a well-known fact that it is advantageous to keep the trolley-rope .taut, for where slack is allowed in the rope for the rise and fall of the trolley the rope is liable to catch upon some protruding portion 'of the car, especially when the wind is blowing, and then Serial No. 187,658. (No model.)

when the trolley-Wire inclines upward the trolley cannot follow the same,-as the rope being caught over the projection will prevent the rise of said trolley and therefore disconnect the current. WVith our improved invention the trolley-rope is kept taut at all times, and therefore the trolley is free to follow the wire in all its irregularities.

A represents the casing, which may be made of any suitable shape or design to properly contain the operating parts, this casing being provided with a slot A, formed through the upper side, through which the trolley-rope extends to the trolley. This casing may be permanently secured to the dashboard of the car,

but would probably be made removable, so as to be changed from one end of the car to the other when the trolley is reversed.

B is an axle journaled at each end in the casing. This axle is normally held stationary on account of a ratchet-wheel B, secured to the axle, a pawl C engaging the teeth of the ratchet-wheel B, said'pawl C being journaled to the casing, and as the tendency-of the axle is always to revolve in one direction against the pawl said pawl willhold the axle stationary.

D is a hollow cylinder having an elongated hub D, which is journaled upon the axle B. Within said hollow cylinder D is arranged a coil-spring E, one end of said coil-spring being attached to the cylinder and the other end of the spring being attached to a collar F, which collar has a square opening formed therethrough adapted to slip over the end of the shaft and [it upon a squared portion of the shaft, so that virtually one end of the spring E is attached to the cylinder and the other end to the normally stationary shaft.

G is a ratchet-wheel formed with the cylinder D.

H is a pawl adapted to engage the teeth of the ratchet-wheel when said pawl is pressed downward into engagement with the ratchetwheel and hold the cylinder against the actionof the springE. The teeth of the ratchetwheel Gr are slightly undercut, so that the pawl will be held in engagement with the ratchet-wheel by the tension of the spring E.

H is a spring adapted to so act upon the pawl H as to tend to throw the pawl out of engagement with the ratchet-wheel (,ir. There fore at any time the tension of the spring E is relieved, so that the ratchet-wheel G is given a slight retrograde movement, the pawl H will spring out of contact with said ratchetwheel and. allow the spring to act.

I is a drum journaled at one end around the cylinder D and at the other end upon a shaft B.

J a coil-spring connected at one end to the drum I and at the other end to the huh I) of the cylinder I). A collar similar to the collar F may fit over the hub I) and the sired. Said spring J is coiled in the same the drum I the same revolution as the spring E tends to give to the cylinder; but said spring J is a much lighter spring than the spring E, and the spring J is not controlled by any ratchet-wheel.

K is the trolley-rope, which is secured at one end to the drum I and at the other end to the trolley.

In operation the trolley-rope is first wound around the drum I, and then by pulling upon the rope K, so as to unwind the same from the drum I, the drum I will be revolved until been wound, and then by placing the pawl [-1 into engagement with the ratchet'wheel E and placing the trolley upon the wire when the rope is released the spring J will wind the slack in the rope upon the drum 1, and the car is free to proceed upon its journey.

In the drawings we have shown a device whereby the pawl H may be automatically thrown into engagement with the ratchetwheel instead of requiring separate operations to place the samein engagement. This we accomplish by connecting the pawl H with a rod L, which extends across the controller spring J be attached to said collar, if so de- 1 longitudinally, and the trolley-rope K passes i behind this rod L, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, manner as the spring E, so as to tend to give spring E has been wound to a predetermined with the ratchet-wheel (ir said spring E is held under tension; but the spring J is free to redrum, and as the spring J is weaker in tension and when the rope is pulled inward toward the car by the conductor said rope impinging upon the rod L will force the pawl H in engagement with the ratcl1et-wl1eel and hold it in engagement while the springs are being wound, and then when the rope is released the ratchet-wheel E will catch the pawl and hold it in engagement with itself. The purpose of the ratchet-wheel B, secured to the shaft and the pawl C, is for preventing any damage to the spring should the trolley-rope break at any time, for if the trolley-rope should break the springs would rapidly unwind, and if the shaft B were absolutely sta tionary when the springs were fully unwound the momentum of the drum I might break the springs, but when it is constructed point by throwing the pawl H in engagement with the ratchet-wheel B after the drum I has obtained some momentum the shaft B will revolve w1th the drum, and therefore volve the drum I and wind the rope upon the than the spring which holds the trolley against 3 under the tension of the spring J, so as to take up the slack in the rope K; but should the trolley at any time leave the wire the upward pull upon the rope K would revolve the drum I until the springJ is wound tightly, and the momentum of the upward movement of the trolley-pole would cause a slight retrograde movement of the cylinder D after the spring J had been tightly wound, and this slight retrograde movement would be suificientto allow the spring H to act to throw the pawl H out of engagement with the ratchet-wheel Gr, leaving the spring E free to act, and as this spring E is of greater tension than the spring which controls the trolley-pole the spring E in unwinding would, through the spring J, revolve the drum I in the opposite direction, so as to wind the rope K upon the drum and .pull the trolley downward below the trolleywire, and then in order for the conductor to replace the trolley upon the wire it is only necessary for the conductor to pull the rope provide against any sudden stop of the spring.

In long cars the trolley does not extend beyond the end of the cars, and therefore the trolley-rope must come in contact with the edge of the roof of the car in passing to the trolley. with a fall in the wire the drum I will revolve T In Fig. 5 we have shown a device for guiding the trolley-rope in such instances, which consists of a bracket M, secured to the edge of the roof of the car, and in this bracket is journaled a roller N, over which the rope passes. The ends M of the bracket extend outward beyond the roller, so as to limit the lateral motion of the rope. Thus no matter if the trolley is a considerable distance one side of the car the rope will be held by the ends M over the controller.

Of course we do not wish to be limited to the exact construction here shown, as slight modifications could be made without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new and useful is* 1. In combination with atrolley-car, a drum journaled upon the car, the lower end of the trolley-rope being coiled upon said drum, a spring less in strength than the trolley-pole spring adapted to act upon the drum so as to rotate the same at all times to take up the slack in the trolley-rope, a spring stronger out of the controller until both springs have 3 than the trolley-pole spring adapted to act upon the drum so as to wind the trolley-rope thereon, a cylinder containing said spring and to which one end of said spring is connected, a ratchet-wheel connected to said cylinder, a pawl normally holding said ratchetwheel against rotation, and means for disengaging said pawl from the ratchet-wheel when the trolley leaves the wire, as and for the purpose specified. r

2. In a device of the character described, a removable casing adapted to be secured to the trolley-car, said casing being provided with a slot in its upper end through which the trolley-rope extends, a drum journaled upon the interior of the casing, a stationary axle upon which the drum is journaled, a cylinder journaled upon the axle, a coil-spring arranged within the cylinder, said spring being stronger than the trolley-pole spring upon the top of the car, one end of said spring being attached to the cylinder and the other end'to the stationary axle, a ratchet-wheel carried by the cylinder, a pawl adapted to engage the ratchet-wheel and normally hold the spring under tension, a coil-spring less in strength than the trolley-pole spring, one end of said spring being attached to the drum and the other end to the cylinder, the lower end of the trolcasing adapted to be secured to the trolleycar, said casing being provided with a slot in its upper end through which the trolley-rope extends, a drum journaled upon the interior of the casing, an axle upon which the drumis journaled, a cylinder arranged upon the intethe tension of the spring, a small spring for throwing the pawl out of engagement with the ratchet-Wheel when the tension is released momentarily, a second coil-spring'of less strength than the spring operating the trol ley-pole, one end of said spring being attached to the drum and the other end to the cylinder, both of said springs adapted to act to revolve the drum in one direction, the second spring being always free to act, the trollyrope adapted ,to be Wound upon the drum, the second or lighter spring acting soas to take up the slack in the trolley-rope, a longitudinal rod connected to the pawl behind which the trolley-rope passes so that when the trolley-rope is pulled inward toward the car, the rope-will act upon the rod to force the pawl into engagement with the ratchet-wheel, a

ratchet-wheel secured to the axle, a pawl pivoted to the casing engaging the ratchet-wheel so as to hold the axle stationary against the action of the springs, as and for the purpose specified. I

In testimony whereof we have hereunto affixed our signatures in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HORACE l/V. NICHOLS. SAMUEL BRIGGS.

Witnesses:

MARY E. HAMER, L. W. MORRISON. 

